A little slice of Heaven called CHURCH
Living in Los Angeles is indeed a trip. As the famous gossip columnist Rona Barrett once said; “Pick your enemies carefully or you’ll never make it in Los Angeles.” People tend to live in a dream world here where who you are is identified by the car you drive or the celebrity’s personal cell number in your iPhone. Young hopefuls flock here by the thousands hoping to make their dreams come true and the city supports that mission by placing more importance on material and superficial gains over spiritual enlightenment. LA denizens actually believe if they jog for two hours in the morning they are morally fit. As Craig Kilbourn joked, “People here in Los Angeles are disgusted now about a sex scandal involving Arnold Schwarzenegger. Apparently for seven years, he carried on a sexual relationship with his own wife.” Yep, that’s my hometown, love it or not.
But a slice of heaven opened up in the dark heart of Hollywood and standing at the pearly gates are Rodney Burns and David Malvaney . These two angels are responsible for opening a high-end boutique that caters to the rich and famous and those who just think they are and they named the store CHURCH. I have to say, the first time I walked into CHURCH I was immediately silenced in awe from the clothing hanging by the ceiling. Rodney and David have an aesthetic like I’ve never seen in this city. And it’s so refreshing to have met two people who not only have an impeccable eye for designers and the clothing they stock, but also that these two are actually NICE. Like, really really NICE. Not fake, not name-dropping, not distracted, not showing off their expensive cars, but just down to Earth, REAL people! I didn’t feel like I was being judged by my shoes when I walked in, or that they unleashed some assistant to go outside and try to figure out which car I pulled up in. They were warm, generous, inviting and charming. I don’t think I have had the chance to use all four adjectives in one sentence when describing LA boutique owners, possibly ever. And the clothes ain’t cheap. This is on parallel to Maxfield’s. Oh wait a minute, that’s where they hail from, leaving the snooty store behind and opening up their idea of what a boutique should be. I am a huge supporter and fan because our little dusty town needs more people like these guys!
When I shot a small ad job for them recently, I put up one of my seamless’ right there in the store and pulled the clothes off the floor with Rodney and I putting the looks together. I used one light, once again. A profoto head at about 300 watts. I used a large umbrella placed above the model to the left so there was some fall off on her from the hips down. I shot with my Nikon D2x and my 85 f/1.4 D lens. And that’s it. So simple anyone could reproduce this. My model was Erin Urb from Photogenics and she’s about as gorgeous as they come. Hair was by Steve David and make up by Heather Kubly-Pepe. You’ll probably see their names for awhile as we’ve sort of formed a little posse out here. Tyler Mitchell assisted me and he’s fast becoming a member of the clique. As long as he keeps me laughing, he’s in!
There’s really not much more to say about the technical side to this shoot. Let’s see: the model was about 2 to 3 feet from the background, I used a medium grey seamless, the light was double diffused and about 6 feet from her body. Oh and I shot around f11 at 250th of a second. The whole day. Rodney and David are happy with the results but again, my team is responsible and the model I worked with and the clothing was out of this world!! I mean, with all those elements in place, how can you go wrong?
Another exciting thing on the table for me is that I have been asked by Smashbox’s FACE OFF 2009 to be one of the judges for their competition. A competition that has been running for 14 years, FACE OFF features the talent of up-and-coming photographers! It’s a GREAT way to get exposure when you’re starting out. Check out their super cool blog Yello! They just posted a interview they did with me today. I really encourage you guys to submit to the FACE OFF competition. Like I said, it’s a great way to get recognition!!
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John Waiblinger
November 19, 2009Absolutely STUNNING!!!
Samantha Nandez
November 19, 2009Absolutely gorgeous clothing! I love the light and the warm tones overall. Great work.
Rina
November 19, 2009That’s great light.. Gorgeous pictures..
Mithu
November 19, 2009Absolutely sharp and gorgeous model with befitting clothing – looking stunningly glamarous. I liked the first shot the most.
Marc
November 19, 2009Wow awesome! What exactly do you mean by double diffused? You had an umbrella and a big 2-stop diffuser panel to the side of the model? Also, so the background is grey and you make it look sepia’ish in post procssing?
admin
November 19, 2009@Marc: Yes, I used two diffusers over my light. and yes, the warmth was put in the post.
Maria~
November 19, 2009Congratulations on bieng picked to be one of the judges on Smashbox’s FACE OFF 2009….
Spectacular Work done on this shoot….!!
Susan Eckert
November 19, 2009As always – such stunning images. With one light. Gosh. What I’d give to be a fly on the wall!!
Beautiful clothes and the model is absolutely stunning! Looks like you guys had a great time. Thanks so much for sharing these. VERY inspiring!!
: )
David L. Anthony
November 19, 2009Quite nice. I have not seen it yet, but I heard you did a wonderful shoot for the newest issue of GenLux! I cannot fathom you doing anything less. All the best to you!
DLA
OPÉstyle
November 19, 2009Very nice and visually entertaining. Good job!
Raji Barbir
November 19, 2009Has anyone else noticed that 1st prize gets you an editorial assignment with… Flaunt?
Awesome work as always and thanks for the resources!
Roger Mann
November 19, 2009Oh these are GOOD! Clean and gutsy at the same time – the essence of good fashion photography. Lovely work, great model and characterful clothes. Way to go Melissa.
Albu Mihai
November 19, 2009Excellent shots! I love the neutral face of the model and the shadows !
Congrats
Michelle Moore
November 19, 2009WOW Melissa! I LOVE THESE!! The color palette and everything came together effortlessly….you make it look so easy!! Lovely lovely
gretchen robinette
November 19, 2009super beautiful lighting and posing.
Brandon Glassell
November 19, 2009AMAZING!!! Thank you so much for sharing your information and technique with us!
Jill Henley
November 19, 2009You are my idol! Congrats on FACE-OFF and I will have to check out Church next time I am in LA.
matt haines
November 19, 2009Love the pram! And the other bits too, but the pram really made it for me.
Aviruth a.photography
November 20, 2009Hello Melissa.
WoW!!!.I luv lighting and posting. Thank you so much for sharing:D
Bill Clearlake
November 20, 2009Well, that’s some Church. Gorgeous fashions and amazing photos. Plus a real gravity-defying Angel!
I like your simple one-light setups. The shadow details remind me of natural window light. Your post work on this series is brilliant, as always.
cortney
November 20, 2009These are all beautiful shots, who is the model?
Robert Raszczynski
November 20, 2009Absolutely stunning
Antoiine
November 20, 2009how man ft wide is the seamless you used?
Antoine James
November 21, 2009would using a large Octa or softbox give the same look as an large umbrella double diffused?
Skip Gue
November 22, 2009Brilliant!
If you ever want to start a east coast posse, Count me in!
Daniel Archer
November 22, 2009Great job Mel. As you said, clothes are just amazing and it makes it easier to work with somebody when they are down to earth! Excellent series you have produced!
AntonioMarcus
November 23, 2009Great series! Love it.
Serge Neri
November 23, 2009Well just when I thought LA was filled with nothing but jerks, I find out that there’s actually 3 of you that are nice there. Ha.
I’m really liking your lighter work. It’s still got that awesome edge though. Personal Favorite is the shot with the stroller. Is that designer too?
Pieter Hugo
November 25, 2009Love these photos! I just can’t get enough of this site. I download all your videos and watch them over and over again. So good!
biliarias
November 25, 2009i loved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Derick
November 27, 2009Amazing shots. Your photography always inspires me, thank you.
Anaise
November 28, 2009Hi Melissa! I truly appreciate your candor and the inspirational work that you produce. I was however quite puzzled when I noticed that the Smashbox Face Off 2009 competition, for which you will be a judge, was offering as a prize an editorial assignment in FLAUNT magazine. Didn’t you blog about them burning you a couple posts back? Maybe you don’t have a say in this but it did strike me as odd.
Tina pelech
November 28, 2009wowowow!!!! amazing! I also use one big light! a large oct. Your work is very inspiring to me! I love hoe you blog about your days! VERY REAL! AND I LOVE IT!
Joachim
November 29, 2009Hi Melissa!
I really love your work! You are so talented and you inspire me alot! Can you give me some tip on lenses that suits fashionphotography. I shoot with a canon markIIds today and going to buy some lenses. Thanks for sharing your skills!
chris holmes
December 9, 2009Gorgeous, great model and love the warm tones
Love single light setups 
Sherlie
January 21, 2010gorgeous collection, I wish I can see more
Fotografia eventowa
January 30, 2010Brilliant light!
Lee
February 16, 2010Wow! Absolutely beautiful and gorgeous model with befitting clothing. Amazing shots especially, the first shots photos. Your photography always inspires me, thank you for sharing these.
Bratby
February 20, 2010thanks for sharing, such warm tones from a mid grey background? how do you achieve this?
fotografia koszalin
February 23, 2010only i say BIG WOW! imazing light!
Wild Rice
March 18, 2010The warmth in these images are so wonderful with a grey background. There is more to it than makeup on the model. Care to share?
Ront
April 11, 2010Amazing shots!!
I like this post a lot!
THX for sharing!
Ron
elham
August 18, 2011That’s great…
Monad
August 25, 2011Hi
cool photos, but I have a question? who is the photographer? you the admin? if so, can you contact me or can I contact you some how?
thanks